A Los Angeles judge granted a restraining order today forbidding members of the LAUSD teachers’ union from staging a one-day walkout on Friday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfont says he based his decision on the health and safety of the students.

United Teachers Los Angeles members had authorized the one-day strike, scheduled for Friday, to protest threatened layoffs of thousands of district workers because of a budget crisis. District officials asked for the order to halt the walkout because it would be so disruptive.

The strike was scheduled to protest planned layoffs of teachers to help erase a deficit in the district’s proposed budget for 2009-10.

“I am elated on behalf of the boys and girls and young people in this district,” said Superintendent Ramon Cortines.

“This would have been extremely disruptive.” Cortines said he was already planning to make Friday a minimum day, but now classes will go on as scheduled. All district teachers will be expected to show up for a full day of work now that the restraining order has been approved if they do not have a legitimate reason for being out, Cortines said. Field trips and athletic events will also be held. The schools chief said the approval of the restraining order did not mean he would be closed to further negotiations with the teachers union. UTLA officials declined comment until they discussed the approval of the restraining order with their lawyers. The union has been pushing the district to use all of its federal stimulus dollars in the 2009-10 year to stave off layoffs, but district officials have said they will not front load the money until the unions agree to concessions like furlough days and wage freezes.

“If we’d taken furlough days that would’ve equated to $11 million,” Cortines said. “Think of how many teachers we could’ve saved, or how many classified employees, administrators. … We have to begin to look at what we can do together.”